


Sealed Fate

by Fire_Bear



Series: Klance Month 2019 [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Kiss, Kissing, Klance Month 2019, Love at First Sight, M/M, Selkies, Separations, Supernatural Creatures, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 20:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18239696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Keith was looking for a mermaid: he found Lance.





	Sealed Fate

Keith didn’t enjoy being in cities. Forests and isolated settlements were more his thing. There, it was more likely that he would see lizard men and Mothman and Devils. Here, in New York, it was far more likely that people were just drunk or looking for a paycheck.

Regardless, Keith was here on a tip off that Pidge had alerted him to. Some college student apparently saw a mermaid in the Upper Bay. Both he and Pidge had surmised that, if he'd actually seen one, then there was a chance that the mermaid would move on. Since Pidge had college to attend and Keith had dropped out, he had been the one to fly out to the coast. Once he’d checked into his hotel and scouted out the area of the sighting, Keith was back at the Bush Terminal Piers Park on his second afternoon.

The sun was setting on a chilly day. No-one was around, the soccer pitch empty. If Keith ignored his surroundings, the rustling grass and the rushing sound of the sea would almost be peaceful. But he could still hear the typical Brooklyn traffic behind him and the distant voices of people enjoying their lives or struggling to get by.

As Keith made his way closer to the water, he realised that he'd made a mistake: he wasn’t as alone as he’d thought. Someone was standing close by, gazing out over the bay. Keith avoided them, looking down at the ground. Maybe he could find some evidence, like a scale from their tail, if the mermaid didn’t turn up. Again, he looked at the shore, searching for movement.

When something did finally happen, it wasn't from the water as Keith expected. Instead, he spotted something blue from his side and he turned to find that the person he had spotted was making their way towards him. Now that he was looking more closely, Keith could see that they were wearing tight, dark jeans and a pair of loafers. A flimsy blue top flowed over their hips, their slim, brown arms on full display. Keith wondered how they could wear that in the cold breeze and looked up at their face.

It turned out to be a young man Keith’s age. He had short, brown hair that curled around his ears and jaw in an artfully wild way. Full lips were pressed together in a thin line. A flush sat high on his cheeks, perhaps from the cold, perhaps from embarrassment. When he got close enough, Keith could see that he had brown eyes, deep and dark. They were also rather wet-looking, despite the lack of tears: they reminded Keith, briefly, of a seal’s. Then his breath caught as he realised that the beautiful man was about to talk to him.

“Excuse me…” he said, hesitant and flighty. His voice was a velvety tenor, sweet and enticing. “I was- I was hoping you could help me.”

“Oh?” said Keith, rather stunned. Never before had he ever wanted to take someone in his arms and kiss them on their first meeting, but it was happening now. “What’s wrong?” he asked, aware that the poor man looked distraught.

“I need to find my skin,” the man explained.

Keith stared at him, confused. Slowly, he became aware of the growing darkness and the fact that the guy might be dangerous. “What?” he said, shifting his stance so that he'd be ready to fight.

For a moment, the man stared at him. Then he blinked. “Oh!” he exclaimed, his cheeks becoming dark. “I’m sorry. I meant to- I’m a selkie.”

Most people, Keith supposed, wouldn't know what he meant by that. But Keith had been studying cryptids and supernatural creatures for years. A selkie fell under that. Of course, things were different in the real world, so not all documents were accurate. Not to mention that Keith hadn’t studied selkies in depth since they were mainly found in and around Scotland. To see one here…

Shaking himself from his shocked reverie, Keith eloquently said, “What?”

“A selkie,” the mythical creature told him. “We mostly live in the sea as a seal, but when we come ashore, we remove our skins and-”

“I know what a selkie is,” Keith interrupted him. “But… You’re a guy.”

The selkie raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a bit…? What was the word again…? Ah. Sexist?”

Eyes growing wide, Keith frantically shook his head. “What-? No- I-I didn't mean-”

“How do you think we have children?”

“I didn't really think...” Keith paused, frowning. “You don't just... live forever?”

Staring at him, the selkie shook his head, an incredulous look on his face. “No. Of course not. We're not immortal. Especially when humans and sharks alike sometimes kill us instead of seals. Just because I'm a magical creature, it doesn't mean I'm a fae or a phoenix or something else immortal. Don't lump us in with them!”

“Oh. I'm sorry.”

“Yes,” said the selkie. “And you can make it up to me by helping me find my coat.”

As far as Keith could remember, selkies removed their coats when they got onto land, usually beaches. Then someone would steal it and they'd be forced to stay on land until they could find it and return to the water. He would have to do more research than that, of course, to make sure he had the finer details correct. But that meant that someone, in this day and age, had a full seal's skin hidden somewhere.

“Well, uh, let's start with who has it,” Keith suggested.

The selkie tilted his head, those eyes looking all the more unnatural and beautiful as he blinked at Keith. “You're really going to help me?”

“Of course I am,” Keith told him. “I-” He stopped before he revealed that he was a self-proclaimed cryptozoologist. He doubted the selkie would want humans knowing that he and his family were out there, somewhere. “I... have always wanted to meet something supernatural,” he said, settling on most of the truth.

With a raised eyebrow, the selkie said, “That's a first. But, anyway, my husband has it somewhere. He hid it and I've searched the house several times over the last couple of years. It's a pretty big house but I still haven't found it. I think he has it somewhere else, but I can't get into his workplace without him and I don't know where else he could have hidden it.”

“You... You married him?” Keith said, rather incredulously. At the same time, Keith felt a wave of disappointment crash over him. He knew that the people who found the selkies first often ended up in relationships with them, but he'd been hoping... Keith shook his head. “Why would you do that?” he asked.

“He seemed like a nice guy, at first,” the selkie explained. “Can you help me?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Keith replied, thinking of Pidge and her computer skills. “Don't worry- Wait, what's your name?”

“I'm...” The selkie opened his mouth and a series of horrible noises came out. Keith's eyes widened and the selkie blinked at him, looking a little amused. “My husband did that, too. He decided to name me Leandro, but most people call me Lance. I like Lance better.”

“Okay, Lance,” said Keith, smiling in equal parts relief and fondness. “My name's Keith.” He held out his hand. “If you come with me, I can help you out.”

For a moment, the selkie hesitated. Keith had the impression that he had seen this before, likely with his husband. The words 'at first' echoed in Keith's mind and he swore to himself that he would protect Lance from the world, if he would let him. And, thankfully, Lance did, gently place his hand in Keith’s and follow when Keith tugged him away from the park.

* * *

Back in his cheap hotel room (the cheapest he could get that wasn’t a motel and had decent wifi), Keith opened up his laptop. “I’ve got a friend,” he explained. “If your husband has any sort of digital trail, Pidge will find it. Or she’ll figure out where to point us onto a paper trail.”

“Pidge,” Lance repeated, watching Keith set up a Skype call. He didn’t sound convinced.

“It’s a nickname.” Keith paused and glanced up at where Lance stood beside the rickety desk chair. “You… know what a nickname is, ri-?”

“That’s what Lance is, dude,” the selkie said, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah. Right. Sorry.”

Lance shook his head at him and Keith looked back at the screen as a blush rose to his cheeks. Unfortunately, that was the exact moment that Pidge answered. “Hey, Keith,” she said, swatting at something out of view. “And, uh…?” She paused, blinking behind her round glasses.

“Hi, Pidge,” said Keith quickly, trying not to get flustered. “I, uh, didn’t find that mermaid.”

“Mermaid?” asked Lance. “There aren’t any around New York, you know.”

“Uh, Keith? Who is this?” Pidge asked.

“Has he found his soulmate?” said a voice off screen, and, suddenly, a guy their age leaned into the shot. He had brown hair and skin, his eyes warm and open. An orange headband kept the hair out of his face, allowing him to peer at the computer. His jaw was square and his shoulders broad: Keith was sure he was strong, though how strong would remain to be seen.

“Hunk, no,” said Pidge, trying to push him out of shot and failing. “This is Hunk, by the way,” she added as an aside to Keith and Lance. “We go to college together.”

“College is the thing with books and learning unnecessary things, right?” Lance asked Keith.

“It’s not _unnecessary_ ,” Keith argued.

“But… shouldn’t you be _at_ college in that case?”

“Keith,” said Pidge. “Who is this? What’s happened?”

“I’m-”

“Shush,” said Keith, flapping his hand at Lance. “This is… Well, when I went looking for the mermaid, I… found a selkie instead.”

“A _selkie_?!” Pidge shrieked.

“What’s a selkie?” Hunk asked, blinking between Pidge and the computer.

“It’s a mythical Scottish creature,” Pidge explained. “They live in the sea as seals and, when they come on land, they remove their skins and become human wom-” Breaking off, Pidge’s eyes widened and she whipped her gaze to, presumably, Lance. “Wait. _You’re_ the selkie?”

“Like I already said, we _do_ have kids,” Lance told her, primly.

“Huh. Interesting. So,” Pidge added, turning her attention to Keith, “what are we going to do now?”

“I-I want to help him,” said Keith. “His, uh, husband has his skin and he wants it back. We need to figure out where his husband is keeping it.”

“It’s not in the house,” Lance told them. “I’ve already searched and searched there.”

“So you want to find out where else he’s storing things?” Pidge asked.

“Yeah,” said Keith.

“Well, sure. What’s his name?”

“Uh,” said Hunk, grimacing. “This is… This is beginning to sound a little illegal.”

“Hush, Hunk,” Pidge replied, waving a hand at him and rolling her eyes. “Technically, this guy kidnapped the selkie, emotionally manipulated him and probably does a load of other shady stuff. This is just karma. So, name?”

“Oh, it’s Lotor Daibazaal,” Lance told them.

All three of them froze. Keith’s eyes widened. “D-Daibazaal, as in Galra Co.?”

“Oh! Yes,” said Lance, smiling. “You know of it?”

“Zarkon Daibazaal’s son?” said Hunk, his voice just a breath above a whisper.

“That’s my father-in-law. He doesn’t like me much…”

“Then, you’re…” said Pidge, slowly.

“Lance. My name is Lance,” said the selkie. “But Lotor calls me Leandro.”

“ _Damn_ ,” Pidge breathed. “You were all over the news a couple of years ago. I mean, everyone knew your name, but no-one ever got a photo.”

“I think Lotor paid people not to show any of those, um…” Lance trailed off and frowned, searching for the word.

“Photos,” Keith provided for him. “Lotor put pressure on the press to keep Lance’s face out of everything.”

“And he invented a surname for Lance,” Pidge added, tapping her finger on the mousepad. “McClain.”

Keith snorted. “That wouldn’t stop people from looking for Lance.”

Pidge stared at her screen. “He… invented a whole persona for him that he talked to several interviewers about.” She glanced up at Keith. “I have the feeling he greased a few palms and called in a _lot_ of favours.”

“That…” said Hunk, warily. “That sort of person isn’t someone to cross.”

Frowning, Keith leaned forward, earnest and sure. “We _need_ to do this.”

“Don’t worry,” Pidge piped up. “I can get into his computer systems without leaving a trace. I’ll find it.”

“Thanks, Pidge,” Keith said, sighing in relief. Looking up at Lance, he found the selkie looking bright and cheerful and beautiful. He was obviously happy that someone was willing to help him. Keith couldn’t help but blush when Lance turned his gaze onto his, that smile almost burning him from its intensity.

“No problem,” he distantly heard Pidge say. “But you owe me a Bigfoot hunt.”

* * *

Two days later, Keith and Lance took a taxi to a storage unit. Pidge had finally tracked down some of the things that Lotor had kept hidden from Lance and the world at large. Of all of the places Lotor could have hidden it, this was the one they had deemed the easiest. It was also the most likely, and both of them were filled with hope as they stepped out of the taxi.

As soon as they had passed through the meagre security and had been given a map, Keith looked over at Lance. For the past couple of days, they had been sharing Keith’s hotel room. Lance had tried to insist that Keith got the bed, but Keith’s compromise had found them also sharing a bed. It had been both thrilling and warm. They’d also gotten to know each other a bit better. Somehow, it had only deepened Keith’s newfound feelings for Lance.

Now, Lance looked equal parts nervous and excited. “Do you really think it’ll be here?” he asked as they passed shutter after shutter.

“I hope so,” Keith replied. “If it’s not, I’ll get it out of Lotor one way or another.”

Lance winced. “Don’t do that. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

Brow furrowed, Keith stopped and turned to Lance, gaze intent on Lance’s distraught expression. “Is he violent?”

“What? No!” Lance exclaimed. “He never… No. But… Lotor does like to woo whoever catches his eye.”

“So he was cheating on you?” Keith asked. His lip curled with disgust.

Tilting his head, Lance’s pretty eyes gazed at Keith. “I don’t think it is quite cheating. I am not worried about myself; I didn’t want him to hurt the women that he was stringing along. That was the reason I came ashore, and the reason I left him.”

“The reason you came ashore?” Keith repeated, perplexed.

“Someone’s sorrow was sent into the sea,” Lance explained. “I came to find out what was wrong but, by the time I had managed to get onto the beach at… that island…?”

“Staten Island?”

“That. When I got there, she had gone and Lotor was there instead, looking for her. She’d found out about him cheating, though I didn’t know that at the time.”

“I’m sorry,” said Keith, with feeling. He ached to take Lance’s hand, to comfort him. But they hadn’t known each other for long enough for him to presume that was an option, so he turned his attention back to the map.

“What for?” Lance blinked at him when Keith raised his head in surprise. “It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you. Though…” Lance turned his gaze to a specific wall, staring towards a sea he couldn’t see. “I’m not sure I will return to be among humans for a while.”

Keith's heart clenched as his spirits dropped with disappointment. He tried to think of something to say, something that would entice him to come back. “Maybe I could show you the rest of America,” he suggested, aware that Lance had been kept in New York since he’d left the ocean.

Lance smiled at that. “I’d like that,” he said, cheeks a little pink. As quickly as Keith noticed his faint blush, Lance turned his head away and stopped walking. “This is it.”

Checking the numbers and the map, Keith nodded. “It is.”

They stared at the shutter. To Keith, it seemed like the end of everything. His world would be a little less bright without the selkie around. But he couldn’t be selfish: Keith stepped forward to enter in the code Pidge and decrypted for them. The shutter rose, slow and noisy, the squeaking making both Keith and Lance wince. Darkness pressed into the hallway from beyond it, the shadows reaching for them.

Finally, the shutter had lifted enough for the light from the hallway to drive those shadows back. As soon as it was high enough for them both to walk under, they crept in, looking around the huge space. For a moment, Keith thought that all of Pidge’s work had been for nothing, or that Lotor had found some trace of Pidge’s hacking and moved everything. There seemed to be nothing there. At least, that was what he thought till he heard Lance’s sharp intake of breath. Then he saw the lone, old-fashioned suitcase in the middle of the room, the bronze latches shining in the light while the rest of it was covered in a layer of dust.

“That’s it,” Lance breathed, hardly moving. It was as if he thought it would disappear if he stepped towards it.

“Are you sure?” Keith murmured.

“I can feel it now,” Lance told him, still staring at the singular item. “This is the moment that I escape him.”

Taking a deep breath, Keith nodded and jogged forward to pick up the case. He was willing to do anything for Lance - even if it meant losing him.

* * *

Once again, the sun was setting, this time on Staten Island. There had been people on the beach before and Keith was a little surprised that they’d all gone when there was a sight this enthralling to see. He’d been hoping that there would be enough people to deter Lance from pulling on the skin, to keep him there for just a little longer. According to the selkie, he was a little reluctant to reveal his existence to anyone else.

Finally, though, it was time. Lance put down the suitcase and opened it, careful with it in every movement. Keith held his breath as the skin was revealed. It was a mix of greys, the darker colour on what would be Lance’s back. Lighter grey covered the belly of the coat and up the sides. Darker spots added a bit of character to it. Crouched beside it, Keith noticed that Lance’s eyes looked all the more damp, all the more like a seal’s.

He swallowed down his turbulent emotions.

“So, you- You’re ready?”

Lance nodded. “I-I’ve been waiting for this, ever since Lotor married me a couple of weeks after he’d met me.” He looked up at Keith, smiling at him with so much gratitude and fondness that Keith lost his breath. “ _Thank you_ , so much.”

“It’s- It was nothing,” Keith said, shrugging. “Come on. You should do this closer to the water.”

They made their way down the beach, close enough to each other that Keith could hold Lance’s hand if he wanted to. And he did, so much so that he folded his arms over his chest to keep from acting on his urges. Lance was about to leave; he shouldn’t tether him to humanity by grabbing hold of him. Instead, he took a deep breath and stopped at the edge of the water, the waves lapping at his boots. He turned to Lance who was already shaking out the coat, smoothing it out.

Glancing up at him, Lance smiled again. “I didn’t think this would happen. I thought I’d be with Lotor forever.”

“Not forever,” Keith retorted. “You’re not immortal.”

Laughing, Lance held his coat in front of him, evidently about to step into the hollow between his seal head and his seal body. “True.”

“You’ll come back to see me- us. Me and Pidge.” Keith cleared his throat and turned his head back to the water. “Won’t you?”

There was a short silence. Keith blinked and turned back to Lance, noticing his grimace. “I-I don’t know…”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve never heard of any selkie returning to land after being out of their coat for so long,” Lance explained. “I don’t know if I _can_ come back…”

Keith’s heart shattered. He had never felt for someone the way he did about Lance. It had been so quick and it had hit him so hard. Falling for Lance had been incredible - and now Keith didn’t know what to do. Without thinking, he grabbed Lance’s hand, just as the selkie raised a leg to step into the coat. Lance stumbled towards him with a tiny gasp.

“You-You can’t-” Keith stopped and took a breath. “I don’t- I don’t want you to go.”

Lance blinked at him, his eyes shining. “Why not?”

“Because-” Keith stopped, gazing at Lance. The selkie seemed a little taken aback, as if he had realised what Keith meant. He said it anyway. “I-I love you. Or… Or I think I do.”

“You… do?” Lance said, blinking.

“Yes. Don’t go,” pleaded Keith.

“Keith…” Lance breathed, staring at him.

“Stay.” Keith pulled Lance closer. “I won’t be like Lotor.”

“Keith,” said Lance again. It sounded pained, torn. To Keith, it sounded as though Lance wanted to stay with him just as much as he wanted to get back to the ocean.

“Just…” Biting his lip, Keith ducked his head. “I wouldn’t force you to stay.”

For a moment, Lance was silent. “Then I have to go,” he finally whispered.

Again, Keith’s heart broke. His grip on Lance’s wrist loosened. “I… Yeah. I get it.”

“I’m sorry, Keith.”

“I know.”

A hand suddenly cupped Keith’s cheek and guided his head up. With wide eyes, he stared at Lance who was now closer than he’d ever been to Keith. Before Keith could react to the soft skin caressing his, Lance leaned forward and pressed his lips against Keith’s.

It was a chaste thing, careful and sweet. But it didn’t stay like that for long. Stunned and exhilarated, Keith wrapped an arm around Lance’s waist and placed his hand on the back of Lance’s neck. He deepened the kiss, drawing Lance close, wishing he would still be there when he opened his eyes. Thankfully, he was, but Keith had to endure the sight of Lance pulling away, a sad smile on his face.

“I have to go,” Lance murmured. Grabbing his skin, Lance turned from Keith and, after taking a deep breath, he walked into the sea, further and further from Keith. When the water reached his knees, Lance stopped and stepped into his skin. Keith watched, heartbroken, as Lance pulled the coat up. He tugged at the head and pulled it over him.

Strangely, the transformation wasn’t as magical as Keith was expecting. One moment, Lance looked as if he was a human pulling on a costume; the next, he was diving into the water as a seal, splashing around in the shallows. Keith watched as he waddled forward before he stopped and turned. With a hand hovering over his lips, Keith tried to summon a farewell of some sort. Instead, all he could do was watch as Lance raised a flipper before he turned, waddled further out and then swam right back out of Keith’s life as quickly as he’d entered it.

* * *

The air was chilly, seven years later, when Keith stood on that very same beach. This time, Pidge and Hunk had sacrificed their time to fly out to be with him during the few days he planned to stay. Keith suspected that it was more a holiday for them than their self-proclaimed cryptid hunt, but he was glad for the company. As the sun set, though, Keith was staring out over the water, searching.

All three of them had grown up now. Hunk had grown bigger, stronger, with a constant chin full of stubble. He was married to a lovely young woman named Shay who, despite being pregnant, was willing to let Hunk leave on this trip. Meanwhile, Pidge looked much the same, though she was a bit taller and looked more mature with her new glasses, rather than looking as devilish as she had been. Her work in a robotics lab was well-known in the scientific community and she shared a flat with someone named Leifsdottir.

As for Keith… Well, he’d never really settled down. He did a lot of odd jobs, some temporary, others worked at throughout the year. For the most part, he still went cryptid hunting. Every time he attempted to settle into a job and a town, he’d get restless and go looking for _more_. Sure, he looked older, with his longer hair that he’d tied into a low ponytail and the scar on his face from a fight with a Bigfoot, but he seemed to be stuck in those three days that he’d had in New York.

He couldn’t forget Lance.

After Lance had left, Keith had immediately begun to research selkies. If he’d had enough money, he would have flown to Scotland to find first-hand accounts and search for his kin to ask them questions. Eventually, he found a few sources on what happened when selkies left their husbands. In some, they would never return: the days he came across those broke him every instant he read the words. There were a few, however, that said that selkies could return when seven years had passed.

That was why they were there right then, waiting, Keith hoping.

Lance’s departure had left Keith with a hole in his heart. Pidge couldn’t understand how Keith could feel the way he did when Lance had only been with him a few days; Hunk knew love and could see how Lance had affected him. All three of them, though, had seen first-hand how Lance disappearing had affected Lotor Daibazaal.

Someone had noticed that Lotor had not mentioned his husband in quite some time. There was a search for Lance and then a murder inquiry as Lotor’s affairs were uncovered. The detectives even tracked Keith down and asked about the days he’d spent with Lance. He’d told them most of the truth. Of course, he couldn’t tell them that Lance was a selkie and had returned to the sea. Instead, he told them that Lotor had kept some documents hidden that would allow Lance to flee a loveless marriage and that, despite entreating Lance to stay with him, Keith had had to watch him leave, fearful that Lotor would find him again. Lotor had not been pleased with him: the man had glared at Keith across the courtroom as they went through the trial. The man was convicted for other crimes uncovered during the investigation but the charge for murder was inconclusive and the case left open. However, Lotor’s reputation was in tatters. Whenever he got out of prison, he wouldn’t have the money he had so effortlessly obtained nor the empire he had so carefully cultivated.

Enough time had passed so that Lance wouldn’t have to worry about his horrible husband any more.

And yet, it was their last day in New York and Lance had yet to show. Behind him, Hunk and Pidge were getting restless. Their suitcases were in the hire car they had parked not too far away, ready for them to drive back to the airport. It wouldn’t be long before their flight would take off and Keith couldn’t afford to stay another night if he missed it. Soon, there would be no sun to see with and still Lance wasn’t present.

“Keith,” Pidge murmured. “It might be…”

“We need to go,” Hunk added. “I- Are you okay?”

“Yes,” said Keith, shortly. “We still have a little time.”

“Traffic, Keith,” Pidge pointed out.

She was right, of course. They needed to go. _Keith_ needed to go. If he stayed here, what would become of him? If Lance never turned up, would he wither away here, waiting forever? He hadn’t even been _married_ to him. How could it feel this terrible when it had only been a few days?

Again, his heart seemed to break. He was never going to see Lance again. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to turn away, to try to put the past behind him, finally. But something caught his eye and he paused, blinking at the water.

There was something there, drawing closer. A bobbing head, a dark dome, water surging around its body. Keith drew in a breath, making enough noise that his friends looked closer. A kerfuffle began behind him, questions and exclamations reached his ears, yet he could barely hear them as his blood pumped in his ears. The thing in the water drew closer and closer until they could all see it more clearly.

A seal’s head poked out above the waves.

Keith didn’t hesitate, didn’t care about his clothes or his flight. With a shout, Keith set off, stumbling over the sand. He floundered a little, but regained his footing and ran towards the animal, slipping a little on every other step. When he reached the water, he was forced to slow, but he splashed out, hurrying towards the seal, towards what he hoped was a selkie, towards what he _needed_ to be Lance. The seal was closer now and it stared at him. Keith couldn’t tell if it recognised him or not, but it didn’t flee and it gave Keith hope as he pushed his way closer, reaching for him desperately.

After seven years, he was ready to whisk Lance home and marry him if the selkie would let him.

**Author's Note:**

> I had never heard of the 7 year rule till I was skimming over some articles when I had this idea. I wanted to make sure that I was thinking of the right thing in regards to the selkie's coat and came across that (though I didn't read it properly). I also wasn't aware that there were male selkies, but apparently that's a think.
> 
>  
> 
> [Here's a link to one of the articles.](https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/legends-selkies-hidden-germs-sea-mythology-006409)
> 
>  
> 
> I might write a second part from the POV of Detectives Griffin and Kinkade who investigate Lance's disappearance and the trial...


End file.
